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Well !! as predicted we had our first “Snow on the ground” yesterday with a white cover early in the morning – luckily we have a ‘Plow guy’ so all I have to shovel is the path to my shop – but with it being so wet and heavy – this was a bit of a struggle for the old guy. ( I didn’t bother taking any pics as we have a ton of these on file.)
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Answer to the last quiz was Tony Scarlett – the Irish lad who was always in the top ten back in the day. A classic memory I have of him was at the 93 Scottish when his Montesa was acting up before he rode Witch’s Burn – he must have looked at it for ages, perhaps expecting it to fix itself, but in the end a couple of local lads helped him take the carb off and clear the plugged jet!! – funny but I can’t remember how he did on the big wall. ( we wonder what happened to Tony?)
Our usual bloggers Pete Varey, Brett and Harlow got it
Quiz today – guess who ? ( A tough one)
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With the Christmas season getting under way – a reminder again that your favorite trials rider might appreciate a new pair of boots, and we have a good stock of Wulf all at very reasonable prices ( including one pair of kids boots)
We also still have some Wulf clothing and gloves plus of course the popular Trials helmets that now come with a drop down (removable) visor
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And here is one for all you young guys who like to “Splat” the big rocks – look at that tire!!!!! This is Toby Martyn ( Of course he doesn’t buy his bikes!!)
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At this time of the year, we look ahead to the new models coming out, and perhaps it’s a good time to reflect on some of the changes we have seen, since we got our first bike in 1955.
That was the year of the new “Swing-arm” rear suspension – brought out by Royal Enfield and also fitted to the James models. – see pic below of my buddy and myself with our first bikes – he had a Francis Barnett and I had a James. Captain – ( RIP Malcolm)
At that time, the bikes on the market were basically road models, adapted for competition and it was some time before the factories started to built bikes for both trials and scrambles. –
We have recounted before how the market changed when Sammy Miller joined Bultaco – and it’s interesting to think back of all the “New” innovations that came on the market in later years.
Back in the day – ignitions were all points and magneto, simple for the average club rider, but soon the advent of electronic ignitions (Ossa) and of course Mono-shock rear suspensions, became the norm. – soon followed by liquid cooling and hydraulic clutches, disc brakes etc etc – things were starting to get really specialized. BUT perhaps the biggest improvement was the introduction of soft 2ply tires.
Now we are in the age of electric starts and fuel injection – where will it all end? Long gone are the days we would not dare go out on a long loop without a handful of spark plugs and perhaps a small nail file for the points!!!! – I guess they call this progress – However! you may want to take a look at what Heath Brindley has done to his twin-shock Bultaco Sherpa T in order to just have “FUN” – read his article on the Trials Guru page.
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